North Shelby Students Get Gold for Buckle UP Always and Speak UP Project

MACON – Three years ago, North Shelby School lost two students to a car crash. Since then a group of students, called the TRACTION (Teens Taking Action to Prevent Traffic Crashes) Team, have rallied together to help get the message out about roadway safety. Two of those students, Hope Chandler and Jackson Strain, took their efforts to the next level.

Chandler and Strain competed in the FCCLA Regional Contest in Atlanta, Missouri, in the National Programs in Action Contest. This is a peer to peer educational contest, and their focus was on roadway safety.

“The emphasis of the project, and from the entire North Shelby School, is to get students to Buckle UP Always and Speak UP when someone’s driving habits are making them fearful,” said Chandler. The two students took Gold for their efforts at the event. They will move on to the State FCCLA Convention in Osage Beach.

North Shelby TRACTION Team has been involved in the program for two years and are working towards implementing their goals and mission into the classroom, as well as through outside activities. TRACTION is a youth traffic leadership training program designed to empower youth to take a role in promoting safe driving habits. The training is put on by Cape Girardeau Police Department and MoDOT Highway Safety and Traffic.

TRACTION Advisors Jennifer Chandler and Ethan Thomas, and FCCLA Advisor Cristy Jones, all agree, “It is great to see these students take this passion for roadway safety and share it in other facets of their student activities!”